Adding Days to Life

Chapter One: Little Jenna

CHAPTER ONE:
LITTLE JENNA

She was just a little kid. Sometimes she even wouldn't know how to balance. Just a year ago she started with school at the age of four and she didn't like it, nonetheless.

She could still recall the first day of school, when her parents left her at school. All the little kids like her were packed in a class where the entrance was blocked by a small blackboard that their little bodies could do nothing about. She remembered how her parents smiled at her. If only her little brains could understand that time that her parents were proud, and not laughing at her.

Now she was in the next grade, almost five. She hadn't made any friends. At a young age she already knew what loneliness was. Why didn't anyone want to be her friend? She got sad, refused to eat during the breaks, but that also came with the teacher complaining to her parents that she doesn't eat. She didn't care though.

She looked around, every kid was playing around her, laughing, but she was alone. Because she was alone, it encouraged her to do her arts well, so the teachers would allow her to play with toys. She was always good at that. 

It wasn't soon after that the bell rung and she smiled, knowing that school was over. The teacher dismissed everyone and she threw her bag pack over her little shoulders and ran to her mother who was waiting for her at the gates.

"Hi mommy!" She giggled.

Her mom smiled, which made her a little happier.

"Did you like school?" Her mommy asked and she reluctantly nodded.

"I can't wait to play with Jerry."

Her mommy smiled. Jerry was Jenny's cousin. The only person who played with her.

"Yes, honey. I know."

And off they went.

---

Years passed and Jenny was now eight years old. She now understood why people didn't like her. She was the skinny brown girl at school and people thought she was anorexic. She was not old enough to know that term, but she heard someone say it.

The teacher was out of class and she was just sitting there. The only difference now was that she had a Chinese friend named Susan. Among other classmates was the clique— a group of girls Jenny always admired and wanted to be like. They were all so pretty and smart and she wanted to be like them. She sometimes tried to hold conversations, but they were never interested. There were four of them, Lilly, Hamna, Natalia, and Maggie.

She liked them all so much, but they were always the best of the class and Jenny was nothing but background. She was anxious at a very young age.

She had her presentation today. She got a book from her best friend, who was four years older than her, about snakes. Even though she learned it thoroughly, she couldn't bring herself to talk.

The teacher entered the class and Jenny could feel her heart beating. She was scared of what was to come. Jenny was called in front of the class and she looked around. She could feel herself shaking and sweating.

She was just so scared.

"You can begin," the teacher said.

Jenny nodded. Looked at Hamna, who was sitting in front of her. If only I could be like her, she thought.

She took a deep breath. "Good morning everyone. Today I will be talking about snakes."

The class didn't look interested at all. All of a sudden, she couldn't remember what to say. She froze there, in front of the class, fiddling with her fingers, breathing heavily. She wanted to cry, run away, but she couldn't. 

"You need to talk," the teacher's voice startled her.

Jenny looked at the teacher and then back at the class. "Snakes are... they are... predators..." she couldn't. 

Please stop this.

"Are you nervous?" The teacher asked and she reluctantly nodded. Something she had been doing for a while. "I understand, but this is your grade we are talking about."

Jenny couldn't bring herself to talk. All the did was repeat herself constantly. She saw how everyone grew tired of her and that only demotivated her more.

"Alright, of you can't talk about snakes, talk about yourself then." The teacher suggested.

Okay.

Jenny started again. "Hello, everyone. I'm Jenny and today I'll be talking about myself. I am eight years old..."

She didn't know how to continue. How was she supposed to talk about herself when she barely even knew herself?

"And? What are your hobbies?" The teacher asked.

"Uh, I love listening to music..." she continued fiddling with her fingers. "I also kind of like dancing..."

"Okay," the teacher continued. "Do a little dance move."

"What?" Jenny was shocked.

I don't want them to laugh at me...

Jenny refused to dance. The teacher called Hamna, since they both were Hindus, so maybe she could help out. Hamna danced, but Jenny couldn't. She just couldn't bring herself to dance.

"Alright," the teacher sighed. "You can go sit."

Jenny was both relieved and sad. Relieved that she wouldn't stand in front of the class and sad, because she knew she had the lowest grade. She wanted to cry, run away, but no one could her what she was thinking.

Jenny was a good student. She got good grades. She always did, she just couldn't be in front of people. She was tired of being laughed at. Most of the kids just called her a coward or chicken. She hated it.

When school was over, the teacher sent Jenny to call her mom. She did and all the teacher did was complain how Jenny couldn't speak and she needs to be taught just that. Her parents later poked fun at her at home or at family gatherings and she just knew that her life was going to stay just like that.

She was a kid, who was going to care about jokes that hurt her? Besides, the teachers didn't like her either, so why bother?

The next day she pretended to be sick so she wouldn't have to go to school and her parents bought it.

Was her life going to stay like that?